Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986 when Challenger, a Space Shuttle operated by NASA, consisting of the Challenger Orbiter, designated OV-099, an External Tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer, and two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), broke apart 73 seconds into its flight leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States at 11:39 a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). Disintegration of the shuttle stack began 73 seconds into its flight after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed, allowing a flare (of pressurized hot gas from within the solid rocket motor) to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external fuel tank.
